ACRONYMS TO REMEMBER USES OF
PRETERITE
&
IMPERFECT
THE PRETERITE: S.A.F.E.
•
S
pecific instance or
a
number of
/several
instances
o
Le
llamó
tres
veces
.
El me
llamó
ayer
.
o
He
called
him
three
times. He
called
me
yesterday
.
•
A
ction that interrupts ongoing even
ts
o
Y
o trabajaba
cuando mi amiga
llamó
.
o
I was working
when my friend called
.
•
F
ocus on
beginning
or
ending
of action
o
Empezó
a
llover
.
o
It
started
to rain.
•
E
nclosed amount of time
o
Los árabes
controlaron
mucho de España por más
d
e 700 años
.
o
The Arabs
cont
rolled
much of Spain for over 700 years.
THE IMPERFECT: W.A.T.E.R.S.
•
W
eather
o
Llovía.
o
It
was raining
.
•
A
ge
o
Cuando
tenía tres años
,
quería
ser bombera
.
o
When I
was three
, I
wanted
to be a firefighter.
•
T
ime
o
Eran
las cuatro
.
o
It
was
four o'clock.
•
E
motion
o
Estaba
triste
.
o
I
was
sa
d.
•
R
epetition
o
Yo
visitaba
a mi abuela de vez en cuando
.
o
I
used to visit
my grandmother from time to time.
•
S
etting or description
(Answers the questions:
What was happening?
What was ... like?
)*
o
El sol
brillaba
y la vista era boni
ta
.
o
The sun
was shining
and the view
was
pretty.
*(
What was happening?
–
The sun was shining.)
*
(
What was the view like?
–
It was pretty.)
SAFE WATERS:
El Pretérito
versus
El Imperfecto
SAFE:
When to use the preterite?
When you want to say that you
DID
or
_________
ed
something. Also, when you want to
talk about a
S
pecific instance, an
A
ction that interrupts an ongoing event,
F
ocus on the
beginning/ending of an action or an
E
nclosed amount of time.
SNAP SHOT CAMERA!!!
Common words: ayer, anoche, el año pas
ado, el mes pasado, una vez, etc.
WATERS:
When to use the imperfect?
When you want to say you
USED TO
do something or
WAS/WERE + ING
something in
the past. Also, when you want to talk about
W
eather,
A
ge,
T
ime,
E
motion,
R
epetition or
S
etting/description in
the past.
VIDEO CAMERA!!!
Common words: muchas veces, todos los días, siempre, cada día (semana, año), etc.